Fountain-fed coating apparatus adapted for use with standard coating material containers



Aug. 11, 1964 F. E. SISKO 3,143,755

FOUNTAIN-FED COATING APPARATUS ADAPTED FOR USE WITH STANDARD COATING MATERIAL CONTAINERS Filed May 27, 1963 INVENTOR FRA K E. ISKO wf United States Patent 3,143,756 FOUNTAIN -FED COATING APPARATUS ADAPTED FOR USE WITH STANDARD COATING MATE- RIAL CONTAINERS Frank E. Sisko, 1012 Forest Ave., Chattanooga 5, Tenn. Filed May 27, 1963, Ser. No. 283,313 1 Claim. (Cl. 15553) This invention relates to a coating apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for applying a decorative and/or protective coating which supplies to a coating applicator a continuous flow of a coating liquid.

Various devices have been proposed in the past for supplying paint continuously to a brush, some of these including the use of a manually operated pump to compress air in a tank and thereby force paint through a conduit to a brush. Such devices are impractical for oneman operation because the painter must stop frequently to lay down his wet brush and pump more air into the container. It has also been proposed to have a supply of air under pressure in a special tank from which the air is fed to a paint container to cause the paint to flow, but such an arrangement is also not practical because the supply of compressed air must be often replenished. All previous proposals known to the applicant herein have been impractical because they require special containers for the coating liquid, are inconvenient, time-consuming and messy in use.

Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a coating apparatus which automatically provides a continueus flow of a coating liquid to an applicator.

Another object is to provide such an apparatus which is adapted for use with a standard container of a coating liquid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, illustrating one embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a modified form of a coating liquid applicator.

In the drawings, there is illustrated one embodiment of the coating apparatus which includes a supporting frame generally indicated at 1. The frame includes a base 2 of metal, wood or other suitable material. Attached to the base and extending vertically upwardly therefrom are a plurality of elongated bolts 3, four of such bolts being illustrated. A top plate 4 has small openings 5 therein of proper size and spacing for the bolts 3 to pass through them. Nuts 6, preferably wing nuts, are provided on the bolts 3 to secure the top plate 4 on the bolts.

The top plate 4 has a large central opening defined by its periphery 7, this opening and its periphery being circular in shape, as containers for coating materials such as paint, tar and the like are ordinarily cylindrical in shape and have circular lids.

The size and proportions of the supporting frame 1 are selected for use with a standard container of coating liquid, such as a l-gallon, S-gallon or other size of container. Such a standard size container 8 is supported upon the base 2 within the bolts 3. A lid 9 fits tightly in the opening of the container 8 and may be either the lid supplied with the container or a specially constructed lid designed to fit a standard size of container. The proportions of the parts are such that the periphery 7 of the large central opening in the top plate 4 covers only the outer periphery of the lid, allowing access to the lid over most of its area through the large central opening in the plate. When the nuts 6 are tightened onto the bolts 3, they force the top plate 4 down and thereby secure the lid 9 firmly on the container.

The lid 9 has extending through it in a pressure-tight 3,143,755 Patented Aug. 11, 1964 "Ice manner an air supply conduit fitting 10, a coating liquid discharge conduit fitting 11 and a safety valve 12. The safety valve may be of any suitable type, such as a springloaded ball check valve to release air when pressure in the container reaches a certain predetermined maximum value.

Air is supplied to the top of the container 8 through the air supply conduit fitting 10 and a conduit 13 leading from an air compressor 14 driven by a motor 15, such as an electric motor. The supply conduit fitting-10 preferably has incorporated in it a check valve, such as a spring loaded ball valve, to prevent air from flowing backwardly into the conduit 13. In operation, the motor 15 runs continuously and the compressor 14 supplies air continuously through the conduit 13 and the supply conduit fitting 10 into the top of the container 8, so that the coating liquid in the container is continuously under air pressure of a desired amount to produce a continuous flow of coating liquid from the container, such pressure not exceeding a safe value due to the provision of the safety valve 12.

The coating liquid discharge conduit fitting 11 is connected to a vertical tube 16 which extends nearly to the bottom of the container and has over its lower end a screen or filter 17 to prevent impurities, sediment, etc., from being drawn into the tube 16.

The discharge opening of the discharge conduit fitting 11 is connected by a conduit 18 to a paint applicator, generally indicated at 19. The conduit 18 is usually a flexible tubing, preferably of a transparent plastic material, in order that the appearance of the coating liquid passing through it may be observed at all times and so that the user may see at once when the supply of coating liquid from the container has been exhausted and may then replace the container with a full container.

The coating applicator 19 may be a brush of a standard size having the flexible tube 18 connected to the end of its handle 24 and through an internal tube 21 extending through the handle to a control and regulating valve 22 which may, for example, be actuated by the thumb of the user. From the valve, the coating liquid flows in a manner not important to this invention, through the bristles of the brush.

A modified form of coating applicator 19A is illustrated in FIG. 2, this form including a roller applicator 23 supported in a housing 24 having a handle 25, the flexible tube 18 being connected to the end of the handle and through an internal tube, not shown, to a cut-off valve 22A, by means of which the supply of the coating liquid to the roller 23 can be controlled.

The valve 22 or 22A on the applicator may be so designed as to be not merely a cut-01f valve, but may also regulate the rate at which the coating liquid flows through the applicator.

The apparatus can be modified by having the frame 1 and all parts supported by it turned upside down. In that case, the tube 16 would be eliminated or made very short and the screen or filter 17 would be made substantially flush with the inner surface of the lid 9. There may then be a tube, not shown, connected to the air supply conduit 11 to conduct the air to What has become the top of the container 8. In this modified arrangement, the frame 1 could be supported at an elevated position and the weight of the coating liquid in the container would make its flow to the applicator easier and there would be no wastage of the liquid. Also, when coating a surface lower than the container, the liquid can flow by gravity to the applicator, without any compressed air being needed.

Various advantages are obtained through use of this invention. There is a constant flow of coating liquid through the applicator and a more rapid application of the liquid because the supply is limited only by the size of the container. There is no repeated dipping of a brush into a paint can, nor is it necessary to refill often a small paint can of a size such as is convenient in use, as is customary practice. The flexible tubing 18 is made of such a length as to afford complete mobility to the user, the container remaining in one position while the user is applying liquid over a large area. The area Which can be covered without moving the container is governed by the length of the tubing, the capacity of the container and the amount of air pressure to which it is subjected. This invention permits an even application of the coating liquid because of its constant flow to the applicator under a substantially even air pressure and because of the control of the flow of the liquid available through the use of the valve 22 or 22A in the applicator. Use of this invention is economical because the controlled flow of the coating liquid eliminates splattering and dripping. The invention is adaptable to use with all types of coating liquids and is especially useful because standard sizes of the containers are used.

There is no physical efiort involved in hand pumping, there is no limited pressure supply and no special container for the coating liquid is needed, thereby making the apparatus inexpensive. I

As described herein, the invention may be used in connection with applicators of different types, such as brushes, rollers and the like.

Itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore the. invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claim. Y

I claim:

A coating apparatus comprising a supporting frame including a base, a plurality of elongated bolts attached to and upy, and nuts on the bolts for securing the top plate thereon; a standard coating liquid container having a tightly fitting lid thereon, the container being supported on the base of the frame and the lid being clamped tightly onto the container by the periphery of the large central opening in the top plate, the lid having attached thereto in a pressure-tight 1 manner a supply conduit fitting, a discharge conduit fitting and a safety valve; an air compressor; a motor for driving the compressor;

conduit means connecting the compressor to the supply conduit fitting and maintaining continuous pressure in the container; a coating liquid applicator having a control valve therein; and flexible tubing connecting the discharge conduit fitting on the container to the valve in the applicator.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,126,999 Mitchell Aug. 16, 1938 2,357,763 Pratt Sept. 5, 1944 2,654,107 Magoon Oct. 6, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 680,230 Great Britain Oct. 1, 1952 

